Telecommunications Cables: Seas and Oceans
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help protect UK submarine cables from potential foreign threats.
Answered by Luke Pollard
Subsea cables are critical to UK telecommunications digital infrastructure, and the Government are committed to maintaining and enhancing their security. This is a whole-of-Government effort including the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, alongside industry and international partners.
The Strategic Defence Review 2025 underscores the UK's commitment to safeguarding its critical underwater infrastructure; the review designates the Royal Navy to take a leading role in protecting undersea infrastructure.
RFA Proteus, the UK’s first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship, is now operational and its leading-edge technology can monitor underwater infrastructure in areas of UK sovereign interest
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